About Us - The Story Behind the Tour de H2O
The Tour de H
2O is the hairbrained idea of Keely Croxton and Steven Hurt. It all started when we got married in 2008. Given where we were in our lives, the process of registering for gifts and collecting more toasters and silverware sets did not seem appropriate nor desirable. So instead we decided to ask our friends and family to donate to a charity. Our research into charity organizations led us to Global Partners for Development (read
more about GPFD) and after much discussion, we decided to fund a water well for a village in Kenya.
The enthusiastic interest and extreme generosity of our family and friends left us in awe! Our goal of funding a well was exceeded and we were able to partially fund a second well. We really believe in the importance of access to clean water as a starting point to breaking the cycle of poverty, and we felt so good about our decision to support this effort. And we loved working with GPFD - the people we worked with are all fantastic!
The next chapter of the story finds us in Western Kenya in February of 2009. We were fortunate enough to be able to travel with GPFD to Kenya and Tanzania and include a visit to the wells we had funded. You can't imagine the wealth of emotions we felt as our vehicle arrived in Kodongo Village and we were greeted by the women of the Bam Got Women's Group (who had sponsored the project for their village), singing, dancing and inviting us to celebrate their new wells with them. The community had worked hard to finish the construction in enough time for our arrival and we were fortunate enough to be able to participate in ribbon-cutting ceremonies at two new wells. The women passionately expressed to us (through translation by Willis, the local GPFD project manager) the importance of clean water and how it was changing their lives. We proudly told them that the wells had been funded through the generosity of our families and friends. It was so gratifying to see the water flowing and hear how it was improving their lives! This trip also solidified our belief that GPFD was the right organization to partner with. As we visited many of their projects in Kenya and Tanzania, we continued to be impressed with their strategies, tactics and professionalism. This is an organization that not only gets things done, but gets things done right, in a way that has a lasting and sustainable impact.
Chapter 3. The enthusiasm we have for this project refuses to go away. We love talking about it with each other, and with anyone else who will listen. So Steven made a great suggestion, "Let's do it again. But this time, let's combine our fundraising efforts with our love of cycling." And the Tour de H2O is born! Planning such an event is not a two-person job so we have recruited a team of people to help and we are excited to host a fun and unique event with a very specific goal: build wells in East Africa and improve the health and economic conditions of a village. If all goes well, this will become an annual event!
So we hope you will join us, either on the ride, as a volunteer or as a donor. We know if you do, you will enjoy yourself and feel good about the difference you are making in someone's life. And we would love it if you could some day travel with GPFD to see the well you helped fund and meet the people who were impacted by the Tour de H2O! We guarantee it will make a difference in your life too!